Wolverines seek redemption in clash with visiting Colonels

Nov 29, 2014 - 3:51 PM
Ann Arbor, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - With the sting of their first loss of the
season still lingering, the 19th-ranked Michigan Wolverines play host to the
Colonels of Nicholls State on Saturday afternoon.

Nicholls has yet to taste victory this season, losing each of its first three
games by double digits. The Colonels tipped off the campaign with a 71-57 loss
at North Texas, and that was followed by 107-74 setback at UCLA and a 75-48
defeat at Wake Forest. This games wraps up the team's season-opening, four-
game road trip, as it will host Loyola (New Orleans) on Dec. 6.

Michigan began the season with four straight wins, topping the likes of
Hillsdale (92-68), Bucknell (77-53), Detroit (71-62) and Oregon (70-63), but
then it ran into another nationally-ranked team in No. 12 Villanova on Tuesday
night in the final of the Legends Classic played at the Barclays Center in
Brooklyn, New York. The Wildcats prevailed in that clash, 60-55, and the Maize
and Blue will not try to start a new winning streak as it embarks on a four-
game homestand starting with today's contest.

This bout marks the first meeting between these two schools on the hardwood.

Liam Thomas scored 13 points as the only Nicholls player to reach double
figures in the recent loss to Wake Forest. The team shot just 40 percent from
the floor, which included a dismal 2-of-12 showing from 3-point range. The
Colonels also struggled at the free-throw line (10-of-19), while committing 18
turnovers and being doubled up in the rebounding battle, 42-21. The Demon
Deacons didn't shoot the ball all that much better (.429 overall, .294 3-
point), but they converted 28-of-36 foul shots.

Amin Torres leads Nicholls in scoring with 11 ppg, shooting a stellar 46.7
percent from three-point land, and he is only player averaging double figures
for a team that is putting up only 59.7 ppg while allowing 84.3 ppg. The
Colonels are shooting just 38.8 percent from the field and 25.4 percent from
beyond the arc. Slow starts have plagued the team in the early going, as it is
being outscored in the first half by an average of 22.7 points, but it has
performed much better after the break, with foes averaging only two points
more than the Colonels in the second half. Adding insult to injury, Nicholls
has been outscored at the charity stripe, 82-25, while being outworked on the
glass, 147-88.

In the recent loss to Villanova, Caris LeVert scored 16 points and was joined
in double figures by Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton, Jr. with 11 and 10 points,
respectively. The Wolverines shot just 41.1 percent from the floor, missing
the mark on 15 of their 21 3-point tries along the way. They also went only 3-
of-5 at the free-throw line, while the Wildcats went 8-of-13. Villanova won
the rebounding battle, 35-31, and scored 30 points in the paint compared to 18
for Michigan. Tempo was the key as the 'Cats outscored the Wolverines on the
break, 13-0.

Irvin leads the Wolverines in scoring at 18.4 ppg, while LeVert is hot on his
heels with 16.2 ppg, while also stuffing the stat sheet with 6.8 rpg, 4.4 apg
and 1.8 spg, all of which paces the team. He is also first in free throw
percentage (.840) and minutes played (35.8 per game). Walton contributes 13.8
and 5.4 caroms per contest for a team that is netting 73 ppg while permitting
61.2 ppg. The Wolverines are knocking down 41.1 percent of their 3-point
tries, converting 76.3 percent of their foul shots, and they are guilty of
only 8.4 turnovers per game.